During these days, the mind, heart and body must also be sacred.
Fasting is a period of training during
which you attempt to approach God and at the same time, sin pulls you
away. Therefore, you must eliminate sin through repentance to draw close
to God.

While
fasting, your body abstains from
food, and your soul abstains from every earthly and worldly lust, and
all passions that pertain to the body. Through repentance therefore, you
approach God. Ask yourself, are you fasting this way?

Without repentance, God rejects and
does not accept your fast. You do not gain either heaven or earth
and you torment yourself in vain. If you want God to accept your fast,
examine your sins, and revoke them. God gave us as a symbol a lesson
when He accepted the baptism of repentance before he fasted.

Take the example of the fast of
Nineveh:

The Bible says about the people of
Nineveh that “every one turn from his evil way and from the violence
that is in his hands.“ (Jon 3:8). For this reason, God did not
destroy them when He “saw their works, that they turned from their
evil way.” (Jon 3:10). The bible did not say: "when He saw their as
sackcloth or their fast," but when he saw their repentance which was the
principal element of their fast.

In the Book of Joel, we see an example
of repentance that accompanies fasting.

The Lord addresses the people through His
prophet saying: “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with
weeping, and with mourning." So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful. “
(Joel 2:12,13). It is clear that fasting was accompanied by repentance
and weeping. Therefore, it is not mere abstention from food. Rather, it
is inner emotions towards God.

In his fast, the Prophet Daniel
offered the repentance of the whole nation.

He fasted, confessing to God, saying:
“We have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and
rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. … O
Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face … O Lord, to
us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
because we have sinned against You.” (Dan 9:5-8).

We therefore reconcile with God
through fasting.

Do not say: “How long, O Lord? Will You
forget me forever? (Ps 13:1). You should rather say: 'How long will I
forget You, O Lord, forever? How long will I hide my face from You?

Therefore purify and sanctify your soul. Prepare for these special days, and we have
discussed this issue before here on
st-takla.org in other pages. Make ready to have God residing
in your hearts and not by merely abstain from food.

If you are in sin, be reconciled with
God, and if you are reconciled with Him, deepen your love for Him.

If you removed sinfulness in a fast,
continue in the same way afterwards.

Repentance is not confined to
fasting alone, but made fit through fasting. Through fasting, man
heart is purified, and this purity continues with him.

Joshua, son of Sirakh, told his son that
if he set forward to serve God, he should prepare himself for all
trials.

When the Devil sees your fast and
repentance, he becomes envious of your spiritual acts. Thus, he fights
you to deprive you of the fruit of your labour and seeks every trick to
bring about your downfall, saying: I shall not leave you until you give
up. Remember the words of the Apostle Peter, who said,
“Resist him, steadfast in the faith. “ (1 Pet 5:9).

Thus, fasting is a period of spiritual
warfare as was the case with
Jesus
Christ. (Matt 4). It is also a period
of triumph for him who shares it with
Christ.